rdf import problem and multilingual zotero

forrat
Hi!

I am using 2.1m10547 Zotero version and the beta version of multilingual zotero. I do have some translations and transliterations of sources that I would like to keep during the transfer of my Zotero base to another computer. Copying Zotero folder does not seem to work (translations are not retained). When I am trying export/import through rdf, it says "unsupported file format". My questions are:

1. Can I fix rdf import problem? (I know it has been discussed in other threads, but those discussions related to earlier versions and I had an idea that it should already been fixed; nevertheless, I am getting an error).

2. Is there any other way to transfer translations/transliterations to another computer? If not, this is not critical in my case. I knew that multilingual zotero is in beta version and didn't invest much time into those translations. I just don't want to lose them if there is a way to keep them.

Thanks!
  • adamsmith
    copying zotero folders doesn't work? That seems hard to believe - they contain the entire database. Obviously you'd need to copy the folder to another version of multilingual, though.
  • forrat
    Do you mean that translations/transliterations are in another folder, not in the main storage one? And if so, where should I be looking for them?
  • forrat
    Or do you mean I should have multilingual on the other computer? I do have it on both.
  • adamsmith
    edited October 2, 2011
    Or do you mean I should have multilingual on the other computer?
    that's what I meant, yes. Frank would have to weigh in then, I don't know.
  • fbennett
    Thanks for reporting: it sounds like RDF import/export is broken. It might take a couple of days, but I'll take a look and post back.
  • adamsmith
    Frank - but moving the data folder should work, no? Or am I missing something?
  • fbennett
    You're right there, the data should carry across fine in that case.
  • fbennett
    @forrat: I haven't checked this, but you might look at the language panel in Preferences on the new system. If the languages you used on the old system are not showing up there, try defining them and see if that wakes up your multilingual content.
  • forrat
    Sorry for the late response.
    I defined them, it doesn't help. I can't guarantee, however, that I put exactly the same nicknames on them ("English" is the same for sure, though). And I can't check it because on the previous computer Firefox automatically updated to 7.0, and Zotero doesn't work at all. Do you think nicknames may cause any problem?
  • fbennett
    edited October 13, 2011
    The nicknames can be changed freely; that won't affect access to the content.

    The MLZ client is now compatible with FF7. If you upgrade or reinstall, you should have access again on the old system.
  • forrat
    Thanks! I'll try right now.
  • forrat
    Nope, nothing is back. I reinstalled the newest versions of Firefox, Zotero, and MLZ. All the settings transferred right away (destination folder, languages), but my transliterations and translations are still not here.
  • fbennett
    edited October 13, 2011
    I'll try this locally then, to see if I can reproduce. To confirm, is my understanding right that: (1) you have multilingual fields showing in the old client, and (2) after copying the database (zotero.sqlite) to the new system, the multilingual fields no longer show up?
  • forrat
    What is zotero.sqlite? I just copied the folder identified as data directory location.
    Other than that you're right: multilingual fields were showing on another computer and after copying the folder they disappeared.
  • fbennett
    zotero.sqlite is a file in the folder, so it would carry across when you copied. You've done the right thing; I'll see if I can make it fail here.
  • fbennett
    Everything seems to be there. Not sure what the problem could be, but as adamsmith noted earlier, the database should contain everything, in exactly the same form. It tried Zotero RDF export/import, and does fail as you describe, but seems to fail without affecting the existing content (which is good, as far as it goes).

    Not sure what the problem can be. It might be worth trying the copying process again in a fresh Firefox profile.
  • fbennett
    For export/import, multilingual data is exported correctly with Zotero RDF, but the code for import of multilingual metadata via RDF is missing -- I apparently set that work aside when patching in some big changes from the trunk a few months back. I'll try to get this hooked up again sometime soon.
  • fbennett
    edited October 15, 2011
    This has been fixed now, I think. Export and import of Zotero RDF should include multilingual field content now, with the latest MLZ client.
  • seadeer
    edited August 5, 2012
    Frank,
    I've been working on my database, and the rdf import problem came up again. After several updates, MLZ is now importing my rdf files without giving any errors, and all the entries get imported. However, several fields in my entries systematically go not get imported: publication, issue, and volume. I made a test entry to test even more fields, and there are several other fields that get ignored. Here's the gist of it:

    git://gist.github.com/3265238.git

    Thanks,
    Anna
  • fbennett
    Anna,

    Thanks for reporting, and for the test data. If you do gear menu -> Preferences -> General -> Update translators, your sample entry should now round-trip.

    If you run into further glitches with other item types, just let me know. Export/Import is particularly important in MLZ, since the supplementary data does not sync to the Zotero server. Until we have multilingual sync, the only way to share the full content of items among users or computers is to export, import, and then merge duplicates.
  • seadeer
    Frank,

    Unfortunately, the problem persists, with the same fields (publication, volume, issue, DOI, ISSN). I've updated translators, updated Zotero itself, and tested this on both my Mac and Linux systems.
  • fbennett
    Thanks for reporting. I reorganised the online sources at GitHub a couple of weeks ago, and failed to fix the update machinery to accommodate the changes. It's fixed now, I think Update (and maybe restarting MLZ?) will bring things right for you.
  • seadeer
    Okay, so I got the translator updated (it showed the "updated" status this time), restarted MLZ/Firefox, and now when I do RDF import it gives this error:

    [JavaScript Error: "type.substr is not a function" {file: "/home/anna/.mozilla/firefox/z6y09z09.default/zotero/translators/RDF.js" line: 308}]
  • fbennett
    Try updating again, I've just filed a change that may fix this error.

    (If you find that it still fails after updating, paste the RDF file that fails to http://gist.github.com and post the url here, and I'll take a look.)
  • seadeer
    Thank you Frank! It works much better now: almost everything gets imported. The only thing that didn't get imported for me this time was the English translations of the Farsi titles. But this is definitely more workable this way.

    I've made a gist with a Farsi and Russian reference. I've re-imported these references on my computer from the test file, and they behave the same way, with only the English translation of the title missing. Both references have titles, journal names, and author names in the original language and in English (and volume-issue-pages fields).

    git://gist.github.com/3298953.git

    Sorry for so much hassle!
    Thanks again,
    Anna
  • fbennett
    No problem at all -- your feedback is very welcome and very helpful. I'll take another look and try to get something up within the day.
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